Systems, methods, and media for controlling the presentation of search results with advertisement indications

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods, and media for controlling the presentation of search results with advertisement indications are provided. In some embodiments, systems for controlling the presentation of search results with advertisement indications are provided, the systems comprising: at least one hardware processor configure to: receive a search request; identify a plurality of pieces of media content corresponding to the search request; for each of the plurality of pieces of media content, determine if an advertisement is configured to be presented with a presentation of the piece of media content; generate search results identifying the plurality of pieces of media content; and generate presentation data that specifies the manner in which the search results are to be presented based on the determination.

BACKGROUND

With the explosive growth of the Internet, high-speed communications,and digital recording technology, there has been a continued growth inthe availability of online media content (such as videos, audio, images,graphics, text, etc.) and the number of instances of users accessingsuch online media content. For example, video sharing Web sites areincredibly popular and users can use such Web sites to be presented withvideos on almost any conceivable subject.

In many instances, media content is configured to be presented with anadvertisement. This advertisement can provide a revenue stream for thehost of the Web site and/or the provider of the media content. To insurethat this revenue stream is not lost, in many instances users cannotview the media content without first viewing the advertisement, or atleast a portion of the advertisement.

Frequently, however, a user may object to having to be presented with anadvertisement before being able to be presented with desired mediacontent. For example, a user may object because the user does not wantto watch the advertisement, because the user does not want to usebandwidth on the media content, or for any other suitable reason. Tomake matters worse, in many instances a user only becomes aware that anadvertisement is to be presented after at least a significant portion ofthe advertisement has be transferred to the user's user device (e.g.,such as a mobile phone).

Accordingly, mechanisms for improving a user's experience when accessingmedia content are desirable.

SUMMARY

Systems, methods, and media for controlling the presentation of searchresults with advertisement indications are provided. In someembodiments, systems for controlling the presentation of search resultswith advertisement indications are provided, the systems comprising: atleast one hardware processor configure to: receive a search request;identify a plurality of pieces of media content corresponding to thesearch request; for each of the plurality of pieces of media content,determine if an advertisement is configured to be presented with apresentation of the piece of media content; generate search resultsidentifying the plurality of pieces of media content; and generatepresentation data that specifies the manner in which the search resultsare to be presented based on the determination.

In some embodiments, methods for controlling the presentation of searchresults with advertisement indications are provided, the methodscomprising: receiving a search request; identifying a plurality ofpieces of media content corresponding to the search request; for each ofthe plurality of pieces of media content, determining if anadvertisement is configured to be presented with a presentation of thepiece of media content; generating search results identifying theplurality of pieces of media content; and generating presentation datathat specifies the manner in which the search results are to bepresented based on the determination.

In some embodiments, non-transitory computer-readable media containingcomputer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor,cause the processor to perform a method for controlling the presentationof search results with advertisement indications are provided, themethod comprising: receiving a search request; identifying a pluralityof pieces of media content corresponding to the search request; for eachof the plurality of pieces of media content, determining if anadvertisement is configured to be presented with a presentation of thepiece of media content; generating search results identifying theplurality of pieces of media content; and generating presentation datathat specifies the manner in which the search results are to bepresented based on the determination.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an example of a user interface for a search mechanism showingadvertisement indications as indicators in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 2 is another example of a user interface for a search mechanismshowing advertisement indications using search result groupings inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 3 is yet another example of a user interface for a search mechanismshowing advertisement indications using different fonts or font stylesin accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 4 is still another example of a user interface for a searchmechanism showing advertisement indications usingadvertisement-characteristic-displaying indicators in accordance withsome embodiments.

FIG. 5 is an example of hardware that can be used in accordance withsome embodiments.

FIG. 6 is an example of hardware that can be used in a database, aserver, and/or a user device in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 7 is an example of a process for a user device in accordance withsome embodiments.

FIG. 8 is an example of a process for a search engine server inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 9 is an example of a process for a media content server inaccordance with some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Systems, methods, and media for controlling the presentation of searchresults with advertisement indications are provided.

In accordance with some embodiments, mechanisms are provided fordetermining whether a piece of media content, such as a video, audio, animage, graphics, text, etc., corresponding to a search request is to bepresented with an advertisement, and, if so, for providing an indicationthat the advertisement is to be presented in search results identifyingthe piece of media content.

Turning to FIG. 1, an example 100 of a user interface for searching forand accessing media content on a user device in accordance with someembodiments is illustrated. As shown, in some embodiments, userinterface 100 can include a provider logo 102, a search term entry field104, a search button 106, a filter option 108, a sort option 110, andsearch results 112.

Logo 102 can be any suitable logo of any suitable provider of userinterface 100 and can include any suitable text, graphics, images,video, etc. in accordance with some embodiments.

Search term entry field 104 can be any suitable field for enteringsearch terms for a media content search in accordance with someembodiments. For example, as shown, field 104 can be a text entry boxfor receiving typed text. As another example, field 104 can be a windowfor entering hand-written text. Search button 106 can be any suitablemechanism for receiving an indication from a user that a search can beperformed in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments,search button 106 can be omitted and a search can be performed for eachcharacter or word entered in field 104 or can be performed after asuitable period of time after a user has entered a search term in field104.

Filter option 108 can be any suitable mechanism, such as a drop downmenu, for receiving a user's selection of any suitable one or morefilters to be applied to search results in accordance with someembodiments. For example, as shown, filter option 108 can be used tolimit search results to content posted in a given period of time (e.g.,the past two years). In some embodiments, filter option 108 can beomitted.

Sort option 110 can be any suitable mechanism, such as a drop down menu,for receiving a user's selection of any suitable one or more sortcontrols to be applied to search results in accordance with someembodiments. For example, as shown, sort option 110 can be used to sortsearch results by the number of views associated with the results. Insome embodiments, sort option 110 can be omitted.

Search results 112 can be any suitable search results, such as suchresults 114, 116, 118, and 120, for any suitable media content inaccordance with some embodiments. The search results can include anysuitable information and that information can be presented in anysuitable manner. For example, in some embodiments, information can bepresented using text, graphics, images, video, sounds, audio, etc. Asanother, more-particular example, this information can include athumbnail image 122, a title in text format 124, a name of the source ofthe content in text format 124, an age of the content in text format128, and a count of the number of views of the content in text format130.

As also shown, for some of the search results, such as search results114 and 118, an indicator, such as indicators 132 and 134, respectively,may be used to provide an indication that the content corresponding tothe search results, when presented, will be presented with anadvertisement. Such an indicator can be any suitable icon, text, image,video, logo, graphics, sound, audio, etc. For example, as shown in FIG.1, the word “includes ad” can be presented next to the correspondingsearch results. As another example, any suitable icon can be presentednext to the corresponding search results. As yet another example, when auser taps or hovers over a search result, a sound can be presented toindicate that an advertisement will be presented with the content.

One or more of search results 112 can be selected by a user in order torequest a presentation of the selected media content. The user canselected one or more of the search results in any suitable manner. Forexample, the user can select a search result by touching a search resultpresented on a touch-screen display. As another example, the user canselect a search result by highlighting a search result and pressing anenter button or a play button.

FIG. 2 shows another example 200 of a user interface for searching forand accessing media content on a user device in accordance with someembodiments. As illustrated, in user interface 200, an indication can beprovided that an advertisement will be presented with contentcorresponding to search results by arranging the search results into twoor more groups in accordance with some embodiments. For example, onegroup 236 may indicate that the results each “Include Ad,” and hencethat an advertisement will be presented when the content is presented.Another group 238 may indicate that the results are “Ad-Free,” and hencethat the corresponding content will be presented without anadvertisement.

FIG. 3 illustrates yet another example 300 of a user interface forsearching for and accessing media content on a user device in accordancewith some embodiments. As shown, in user interface 300, an indicationcan be provided that an advertisement will be presented with contentcorresponding to search results by altering the manner in whichinformation about the content is presented. For example, as shown,search results 314 and 318 can be presented such that the title of thecontent is presented in a different font or style (e.g., bold italics)to indicate that an advertisement will be presented with contentcorresponding to these search results. Search results 316 and 320, onthe other hand, can be presented in a different font or style (e.g.,non-bold, non-italics) to indicate that content corresponding to thesesearch results will be presented without an advertisement.

In some embodiments, an indicator that is used to indicate that anadvertisement will be presented with content corresponding to a searchresult can provide any suitable information about the advertisement. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 4, indicators 432 and 434 can indicate thatadvertisements to be presented with content corresponding to the shownsearch results are “viral” (that is, extremely popular) advertisements.As a result, the user may be enticed to select one of these searchresults in order to see a popular advertisement, which the user mayenjoy. As another example, an indicator may indicate a company, aproduct, a service, a length, a format, and/or any other suitablecharacteristic(s) associated with an advertisement to be presented withcontent associated with a search result.

Turning to FIG. 5, an example 500 of hardware that can be used inaccordance with some embodiments is shown. As illustrated, hardware 500can include a search engine server 502, a search engine database 504, amedia content server 506, an advertisement server 508, a communicationnetwork 510, and one or more user devices 512, such as a mobile phone514, a tablet computer 516, and/or a laptop computer 518.

Search engine server 502 can be any suitable search engine server inaccordance with some embodiments. For example, search engine server 502can be a search engine that receives search requests sent from a Webbrowser and returns search results in a Web page. As another example,search engine server 502 can be a search engine that receives searchrequests from a dedicated media presentation application and returnssearch results in a format specifically tailored for that application.

In some embodiments, search engine server 502 can control the manner inwhich the search results are presented to a user. For example, server502 can control whether the search results are presented in one or moreof the manners described above in connection with FIGS. 1-4.

Search engine database 504 can be any suitable search engine databasefor storing data relating to media content available for presentation insome embodiments. For example, this data can include the title ofcontent, the source of content, the number of views of content, athumbnail associated with content, and/or any other suitableinformation. In some embodiments, this data can include informationindicating which content, when presented, will be presented with anadvertisement. In some embodiments, this data can specifycharacteristics of the advertisements to be presented with content(e.g., as described above in connection with FIG. 4).

Media content server 506 can be any suitable media content server forstoring media content and for delivering the content to a user device512 of a user in some embodiments. For example, media content server 506can be a server that streams media content to a user device 512 viacommunication network 510. Media content provided by media contentserver 506 can be any suitable content such as video content, audiocontent, television programs, movies, cartoons, music, sound effects,audio-books, streaming live content (e.g., a streaming radio show, alive concert, a live political event, etc.), pre-recorded content, etc.

Advertisement server 508 can be any suitable advertisement server forstoring advertisements and for delivering the advertisements to a userdevice 512 of a user in some embodiments. For example, advertisementserver 508 can be a server that streams video advertisements (e.g.,commercials) to a user device 512 via communication network 510.Advertisements provided by advertisement server 508 can be any suitableadvertisements such as video advertisements, audio advertisements,commercials, graphics, text, images, video clips, etc.

Communication network 510 can be any suitable combination of one or morewired and/or wireless networks in some embodiments. For example,communication network can include any one or more of the Internet, amobile data network, a satellite network, a local area network, a widearea network, a telephone network, a cable television network, a WiFinetwork, a WiMax network, and/or any other suitable communicationnetwork.

User devices 512 can include any suitable user devices for generatingsearch requests for media content, for presenting search results to auser as described herein, and for presenting media content, in someembodiments. For example, in some embodiments, user devices 512 caninclude mobile devices, such as mobile phone 514, tablet computer 516,laptop computer 518, a vehicle (e.g., car, boat, airplane, etc.)entertainment system, a portable media player, etc. Although not shownin FIG. 5, as another example, in some embodiments, user devices 512 caninclude non-mobile devices, such as a desktop computer, a set-top box, asmart television, a streaming media player, a game console, etc.

Although search engine server 502, search engine database 504, mediacontent server 506, and advertisement server 508 are illustrated asseparate devices, any of these devices can be combined into any one ormore devices in some embodiments. Also, although only one of each ofsearch engine server 502, search engine database 504, media contentserver 506, and advertisement server 508 is shown in FIG. 5 to avoidover-complicating the figure, any suitable one or more of these devicescan be used in some embodiments.

Although three user devices 514, 516, and 518 are shown in FIG. 5 toavoid over-complicating the drawing, any suitable number of thesedevices, and any suitable types of these devices, can be used in someembodiments.

Search engine server 502, search engine database 504, media contentserver 506, advertisement server 508, and user devices 512 can beimplemented using any suitable hardware in some embodiments. Forexample, in some embodiments, devices 502, 504, 506, 508, and/or 512 canbe implemented using any suitable general purpose computer or specialpurpose computer. For example, a mobile phone may be implemented using aspecial purpose computer. Any such general purpose computer or specialpurpose computer can include any suitable hardware. For example, asillustrated in example hardware 600 of FIG. 6, such hardware can includea hardware processor 602, memory and/or storage 604, an input devicecontroller 606, an input device 608, display/audio drivers 610, displayand audio output circuitry 612, communication interface(s) 614, antenna616, and a bus 618.

Hardware processor 602 can include any suitable hardware processor, suchas a microprocessor, a micro-controller, digital signal processor,dedicated logic, and/or any other suitable circuitry for controlling thefunctioning of a general purpose computer or special purpose computer insome embodiments.

Memory and/or storage 604 can be any suitable memory and/or storage forstoring programs, data, media content, advertisements, etc. in someembodiments. For example, memory and/or storage 604 can include randomaccess memory, read only memory, flash memory, hard disk storage,optical media, etc.

Input device controller 606 can be any suitable circuitry forcontrolling and receiving input from one or more input devices 608 insome embodiments. For example, input device controller 606 can becircuitry for receiving input from a touch screen, from one or morebuttons, from a voice recognition circuit, from a microphone, from acamera, from an optical sensor, from an accelerometer, from atemperature sensor, from a near field sensor, etc.

Display/audio drivers 610 can be any suitable circuitry for controllingand driving output to one or more display and audio output circuitries612 in some embodiments. For example, display/audio drivers 610 can becircuitry for driving an LCD display, a speaker, an LED, etc.

Communication interface(s) 614 can be any suitable circuitry forinterfacing with one or more communication networks, such as networks510 in some embodiments. For example, interface(s) 614 can includenetwork interface card circuitry, wireless communication circuitry, etc.

Antenna 616 can be any suitable one or more antennas for wirelesslycommunicating with a communication network in some embodiments. In someembodiments, antenna 616 can be omitted when not needed.

Bus 618 can be any suitable mechanism for communicating between two ormore of components 602, 604, 606, 610, and 614 in some embodiments.

Any other suitable components can be included in hardware 600 inaccordance with some embodiments.

Turning to FIGS. 7, 8, and 9, examples 700, 800, and 900 of processesthat can be performed in a user device 512, a search engine server 502,and a media content server 506, respectively, in accordance with someembodiments are shown.

More particularly, process 700 of FIG. 7 is an example of a process forrequesting a search, receiving and presenting search results, andselecting and presenting media content and/or advertisements inaccordance with some embodiments. Such a process can be performed in auser device 512 in some embodiments. As illustrated, after process 700has begun at 702, the process can detect a user activation of a searchinterface at 704. This activation can be detected in response to a userbrowsing to a search engine Web page, in response to a user selecting asearch widget on a user device, in response to a user activating a mediaplayer, etc.

Next, at 706, process 700 can present a search interface. Any suitablesearch interface can be presented. For example, in some embodiments, asearch interface such as that described in any of FIGS. 1-4 can bepresented in some embodiments.

At 708, the process can next receive the search terms. These searchterms can be received in response to a user typing the terms, inresponse to a user speaking the terms, in response to the user selectingthe terms from a menu, based on previously selected content, in responseto the user pasting the terms, etc.

Then, at 710, process 700 can send the search terms to a search engine.These search terms can be sent in any suitable manner in someembodiments. For example, in some embodiments, these terms can be sentin any suitable protocol using any suitable type of communicationinterface.

Process 700 can then receive search results and presentation data at712. Any suitable search results, in any suitable format, and anysuitable presentation data can be received in some embodiments. Forexample, search results and presentation data as described above inconnection with FIGS. 1-4 can be received in some embodiments. Thesesearch results and presentation data can be received in any suitablemanner in some embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, thesesearch results and presentation data can be received in any suitableprotocol using any suitable type of communication interface.

At 714, process 700 can then present the search results in accordancewith the presentation data. This presentation can be performed in anysuitable manner. For example, in some embodiments, this presentation canbe performed as described above in connection with FIGS. 1-4.

Next, at 716, process 700 can receive a selection of one or more of thesearch results in any suitable manner. For example, process 700 canreceive a selection of a search result in response to a user touching asearch result presented on a touch-screen display. As another example,process 700 can receive a selection of a search result in response to auser highlighting a search result and pressing an enter button or a playbutton.

At 718, the process can then send a request for the correspondingcontent to a media content server based on the selection. This requestcan be sent in any suitable manner in some embodiments. For example, insome embodiments, this request can be sent in any suitable protocolusing any suitable type of communication interface.

At 720, process 700 can receive media content and/or an advertisementresponsive to the request sent at 718. This media content and/oradvertisement can be received in any suitable manner in someembodiments. For example, in some embodiments, this media content and/oradvertisement can be received in any suitable protocol using anysuitable type of communication interface.

Next, at 722, the media content and/or advertisement can be presented inany suitable manner. For example, an advertisement may be presentedbefore content can be presented, an advertisement may be presented whilecontent is being presented, etc. As another example, an advertisementand/or content can be presented as video, audio, images, text, etc.

Finally, at 724, process 700 can end.

Process 800 of FIG. 8 is an example of a process for receiving andresponding to a search request in accordance with some embodiments. Sucha process can be performed in a search engine server 502 in someembodiments. As illustrated, after process 800 has begun at 802, theprocess can receive search terms from a search interface at 804 in someembodiments. These search terms can be received in any suitable mannerin some embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, these terms canbe received in any suitable protocol using any suitable type ofcommunication interface.

Next, at 806, process 800 can generate search results corresponding tothe search terms in some embodiments. These search results can begenerated in any suitable manner in some embodiments. For example, insome embodiments, these search results can be generated based on datareceived from search engine database 504 in response to a databasequery.

At 808, process 800 can then determine which search results correspondto advertisements. This determination can be made in any suitablemanner. For example, in some embodiments, this determination can be madebased on data retrieved from search engine database 504 for the searchresults. As another example, this information can be made based on dataretrieved from media content server 506 and/or advertisement server 508.

Then, at 810, process 800 can generate presentation data based on whichsearch results correspond to advertisements in some embodiments. Anysuitable presentation data can be generated in some embodiments. Forexample, in some embodiments, presentation data can be generated tocause the search results and/or advertisement indications to bepresented as described above in connection with FIGS. 1-4.

Once the presentation data has been generated, process 800 can then sendthe search results and presentation data to the search interface at 812.These search results and presentation data can be sent in any suitablemanner in some embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, thesesearch results and presentation data can be sent in any suitableprotocol using any suitable type of communication interface.

Finally, at 814, process 800 can end.

Process 900 of FIG. 9 is an example of a process for receiving andresponding to a request for media content in accordance with someembodiments. Such a process can be performed in a media content server506 in some embodiments. As illustrated, after process 900 has begun at902, the process can receive a request for content from the searchinterface at 904. This request can be received in any suitable manner insome embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, this request can bereceived in any suitable protocol using any suitable type ofcommunication interface.

Next, at 906, the process can determine whether there is anadvertisement associated with the requested media content in someembodiments. This determination can be made on any suitable basis. Forexample, in some embodiments, this determination can be made based ondata stored in media content server 506 and/or advertisement server 508.

If it is determined at 906 that an advertisement is associated with therequested media content, then process 900 can branch to 908 to retrievean advertisement from an advertisement server. This advertisement can beretrieved in any suitable manner. For example, in some embodiments, thisadvertisement can be retrieved by requesting and receiving a full copyof the advertisement. As another example, in some embodiments, thisadvertisement can be retrieved by requesting and receiving a link or apointer that can be used to access a full copy of the advertisement.

If it is determined at 906, however, that no advertisement is associatedwith the requested media content, or after completing 908, process 900can branch to 910 to retrieve the requested content. This content can beretrieved in any suitable manner. For example, in some embodiments, thiscontent can be retrieved by requesting and receiving from storage inserver 506 a full copy of the content. As another example, in someembodiments, this content can be retrieved by requesting and receiving alink or a pointer that can be used to access a full copy of the content.

Process 900 can then send the retrieved content and/or the retrievedadvertisement to the user device at 914. This media content and/oradvertisement can be sent in any suitable manner in some embodiments.For example, in some embodiments, this media content and/oradvertisement can be sent in any suitable protocol using any suitabletype of communication interface.

Finally, at 914, process 900 can end.

It should be understood that at least some of the above described stepsof the processes of FIGS. 7-9 can be executed or performed in any orderor sequence not limited to the order and sequence shown and described inthe figures. Also, some of the above steps of the processes of FIGS. 7-9can be executed or performed substantially simultaneously whereappropriate or in parallel to reduce latency and processing times.

In some embodiments, any suitable computer readable media can be usedfor storing instructions for performing the functions and/or processesdescribed herein. For example, in some embodiments, computer readablemedia can be transitory or non-transitory. For example, non-transitorycomputer readable media can include media such as magnetic media (suchas hard disks, floppy disks, etc), optical media (such as compact discs,digital video discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), semiconductor media (such asflash memory, electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM),electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), etc.), anysuitable media that is not fleeting or devoid of any semblance ofpermanence during transmission, and/or any suitable tangible media. Asanother example, transitory computer readable media can include signalson networks, in wires, conductors, optical fibers, circuits, anysuitable media that is fleeting and devoid of any semblance ofpermanence during transmission, and/or any suitable intangible media.

Although the invention has been described and illustrated in theforegoing illustrative embodiments, it is understood that the presentdisclosure has been made only by way of example, and that numerouschanges in the details of implementation of the invention can be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, which islimited only by the claims that follow. Features of the disclosedembodiments can be combined and rearranged in various ways.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for controlling the presentation ofsearch results with advertisement indications, comprising: at least onehardware processor that is configured to: receive a search request;identify a plurality of pieces of media content corresponding to thesearch request; for each of the plurality of pieces of media content,determine if an advertisement is configured to be presented with apresentation of the piece of media content; generate search resultsidentifying the plurality of pieces of media content; and generatepresentation data that specifies the manner in which the search resultsare to be presented based on the determination, wherein the presentationdata specifies a font or a font style to provide an indication that anadvertisement will be presented with certain content.
 2. A method forcontrolling the presentation of search results with advertisementindications, comprising: receiving a search request; identifying aplurality of pieces of media content corresponding to the searchrequest; for each of the plurality of pieces of media content,determining if an advertisement is configured to be presented with apresentation of the piece of media content; generating search resultsidentifying the plurality of pieces of media content; and generatingpresentation data that specifies the manner in which the search resultsare to be presented based on the determination, wherein the presentationdata specifies a font or a font style to provide an indication that anadvertisement will be presented with certain content.
 3. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium containing computer-executableinstructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor toperform a method for controlling the presentation of search results withadvertisement indications, the method comprising: receiving a searchrequest; identifying a plurality of pieces of media contentcorresponding to the search request; for each of the plurality of piecesof media content, determining if an advertisement is configured to bepresented with a presentation of the piece of media content; generatingsearch results identifying the plurality of pieces of media content; andgenerating presentation data that specifies the manner in which thesearch results are to be presented based on the determination, whereinthe presentation data specifies a font or a font style to provide anindication that an advertisement will be presented with certain content.